Evaluation quetsion 5

How did you attract/ address your audience?

For my magazine, I ensured that it would sell by including the main aspects of an indie/rock genre magazine. Firstly, I ensured that my front cover looks good and would appeal to a young adults by making the colour scheme red, black and white and silver these are the main colours used for a indie/rock genre magazine. I included a large red masthead and made it eye catching for my audience. The colours are also a uni-sex so I gained a wider target audience.
On the front cover and contents page I included sell lines which will appeal to my target audience because they are sell lines which my audience will want to read about in the article, for example i have included the latest about singers and bands so they will be able to read about their favourite singer or band. I have also included gig listening as my target audience are people who regularly go to gigs and enjoy it. My article is about a new singer, this will appeal to my audience as they want to know what else the musician will be doing.
On the front cover it is a close-up of my musician who is a female; this will attract both women and men. The price of my magazine is £3.50, it is expensive however, teenagers will be able to afford it as they are most likely to ask their parents for the money, young adults will be able to afford it as they will probably be working so it is easier for them to afford it as well.
 My target audience are quite young and I have ensured that they can access my magazine in many different ways by including a facebook and twitter website as well as an Iphone app, as young people are more likely to use the internet access things, as they are likely to have a smart phone and have internet on their phone so they can easily access the iphone app, and if they have a Blackberry or other type of smart phone they can easily use the internet on their phone to go onto the twitter or facebook website.
I have tried to give my magazine a certain style of writing as the Uses and Gratification theory say that people who read magazines try to have a personal relationship with it, and read magazines for an escapism therefore, I have used writing where my reader feels comfortable reading it and I have included pictures and different articles about different artists, gig and album reviews so that every page is different and my reader can enjoy reading each different page.

I have included the colours red, white grey and black these are colours which are associated with the genre of my magazine. The colour red stands out and so therefore I used that colour for my masthead so that the reader is immediately drawn to it. I used effects on my sell lines such as drop down shadow and bevel emboss so that they are eye catching and bold.

Evaluation question 4

Evaluaion Question 3

Who would be the audience for your media product ?

I have targeted my audience at young adults from the ages of 16-25, because teenagers develop what type of music they are in to at the age of 16 and older. Young adults/adults are more likely to buy my magazine because they are more likely to want to read about reviews and upcoming gigs. They have probably already experiences going to a gig/concert.

 Another reason I have targeted my audience at young adults is because 16 years old will have parents who are likely to pay for the magazine issues. My magazine is aimed at both male and females, and I think my magazine does this well as the front cover has a picture of a female which will attract males as well as females and the colours I have used colours which are very mutual and so they should appeal to both genders.

The social class for my will be B-D, my magazine it monthly but it is £2.99, quite expensive but social class C and D will be able to afford it. They would be people who are at college or university which is why my price is not too expensive, because when you are a student and young adults starting the world of work.

I think my target audience will share the same sort of social habits they are likely to dress the same, have the same interest which is why in my magazine i included exclusive interviews which I know would appeal to them, I also included when the latest gigs will happen, which will also appeal to my audience as they are likely to enjoy going to gigs and concerts.

Evaluation question 3

What kind of institution might distribute your media product and why ?

I wanted my magazine to be distributed by Hearst magazine UK, I did not want my magazine to be distributed by ICP as they distribute magazine such as 'Q', 'NME' and 'Kerrange!'. This would then increase my competition, as 'Tune' is a similar magazine to the magazine distributed by ICP which would make it difficult for my magazine has its own identity and popularity.

 Hearst magazine UK is well known for distributing fashion and life style magazine such as 'Cosmopolitan' even though this is not a music magazine, the distributor will be well known and my magazine will attract other types of magazine as well as my own.

I think that Hearst magazine will be a suitable distributer for my magazine because my magazine will be the first magazine that they will distribute and for it to be successful they will make a marketing campaign and will have a large enough budget to make the magazine attract a target audience.

Hearst magazine distribute magazines for male and female audiences and my magazine is also aimed at both genders. I think this would be good for Hearst magazine to distribute my magazine because they will be the first fashion and lifestyle magazine to be distributing a music magazine which would be an advantage for them to be distributing and launching a new magazine which will attract and gain the attention of a large target audience.

Evaluation question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

For my magazine I think I have represented my social group quite well. The look of the magazine looks like it’s aimed at upper class/ middle class. The effect of using grey in my front cover makes my magazine look sophisticated, I also used and black white and this make my magazine look elegant as black and white complement each other well. The added effect of red makes my magazine stand out, and you can also tell what the genre of my magazine is.

For my front cover, I tried to create sell lines which would relate to my tagret audience, for example I used 'best album 2011' this would appeal to my audience who are frequently listening to indie music and who will want to know the best album for 2011. The colours that i have used represent the genre well, which attracts my target audience. I also think that the image I used represented how I wanted my musician too look, I made her pose in her picture so it looks dangerous. Danger is something that relates a lot to a Indie/rock magazine, and I think I have represented it well, the picture is a close up so you can see her facial expression quite well and the audience can relate to her.

Another page which I thinks represents my social group well is my first double page spread, as I think the image that I used is very exaggerated and even though there is only a pull quote on the page, the page says a lot. I think the picture looks quite upper-class from the way it has been taken and the font I used for the pull quote adds a sophisticated look as I made the font italic which adds the extra effect.

Furthermore, the Mise-en-scene of my magazine represents the social group of my magazine well, the look of my model looks quite middle class/upper class, in my article draft I made her wear red high heels again the colour red because it related well to the genre of my magazine as well as making my model look sophisticated and glamorous. The clothes that my model wears are stylish, and make her look like a rock chick which adds to the look of the genre of my magazine. It also appeals too teenagers in middle class because her clothes are quite normal looking. I think that the front cover pictures represents my social group well it adds to the elegant look of the magazine, a close-up shot of her adds an up class effect to the overall look.

The tone of the article is something which will appeal to a young audience, the article is about a musician who is a new comer and has succeeded well for an Indie artist. This will appeal to my audience well as they'll want to know more about her success and what else she has lined up for her fans. I used two pictures and enlarged them, one of the pictures she is wearing clothes which really represent her image and the magazine well, I think wearing a leather jacket shorts and a top represent the  magazine well the red heels balance it out by making her look glamorous and devious.

Evaluation question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The magazine that I have created does follow the typical conventions of a Indie/Rock magazine, I wanted to follow the main aspects of this type of genre so that the audience could recognize it straight away. I wanted to follow the typical conventions so that it is easy for my magazine to fit in with the genre, however, even though I followed the styling of an Indie/Rock magazine I do think that I created a magazine that has its own identity and style. I did this by looking at other Indie/Rock magazines and got some ideas to add to my own magazine.

For my front cover, I used the colours black, red, grey and white so that the audience can immediately realise the genre off that magazine, I added white to my colour scheme to make it look slightly different. I knew that my magazine has to be eye catching so that it can instantly grab the readers eye and I did this by making the masthead of my front cover red bold and large with added effects to make it stand out more. The image I used is a typical close up off my model, I think that it makes the magazine look more effective and the image looks eye catching, I also think that being able to use a close up means that I can have less sell lines around my front cover and the main focus can be on the image to make my magazine look more effective.

For my contents page, I changed the look and I think this is how I changed it to have its own identity. I created different sections the same in all contents page. But I used a long-shot image and used that as my background and faded it out a little so it wasn’t the main focus. The colours that i’ve used are red and black, red page numbers and black text. I've sectioned it out easily so that the readers can see what categories they want to look at.

I created two double page spreads, my first double page spread is a large mid-shot picture off my artist, i used an outdoor picture which is different and I think it looks really effective, i also added a pull quote on top of the picture. They both make the double page spread look effective. I used the colour red for the pull quote but a darker colour as it complements the picture as the background in the picture is dark green because of the blurred effect of the trees you can see in the background.

For my second double page spread, this is where the main article is. I used two pictures and fitted the text around the picture so it looks professional. The pictures I used look effective i enlarged them to fill the page up and make the stand out more. My model is wearing red heels in one them with goes with the red theme of my magazine and also makes her look dangerous as well as love and it goes with her Indie/Rock image. The clothes that she is wearing make her look like an Indie/Rock artist.  The colour that I used is black and dark red which goes with the previous double page spread that I created.

Audience feedback

Diary entry 17